Lenovo rubbishes Linux but confirms looking at Chrome OS

Lenovo has put the boot into Linux netbooks, saying that the introduction of Windows 7 makes the gap even wider than before. Howard Locker, director of Lenovo’s new technology department, also confirmed that they are looking into alternatives including Google’s Chrome OS.

Lenovo launched Linux netbooks targeting the education market back in October 2008, but canned them following poor sales. “Our S9 and S10 model netbooks had Linux loads, but they didn’t do well so we stopped selling them. People didn’t realize what they bought, and they returned them because they expected Windows and thought they were broken,” Locker said.

The lack of support for Apple’s iTunes was one of the reasons that annoyed Linux users, Lenovo claim. However, the company is currently evaluating Chrome OS in netbooks, although it says that it is only at the early stages. “We’re watching it but it’s too early to tell because they don’t even have alpha code to test,” Locker said.

Windows 7 has made the gap between Linux offerings even wider claims Locker. He cited a number of improvements included in Windows 7 including a 10-second boot time, one second resume and lower power consumption. He went on to say that Windows 7 “has really hurt the alternatives because it’s a lot better, so there’s a huge gap [for Linux environments] to jump now.”

Via EETimes.